Best Buy, Wal-Mart Tighten Grip On CE: Report

Worthington, Ohio — More than 55 percent of consumers shop for electronics products most often at Best Buy and Wal-Mart, a new survey shows.

According to a poll of more than 8,000 shoppers conducted March 3-9 by BIGresearch, nearly 35 percent said they visited Best Buy most frequently for their CE needs, while more than 20 percent went to Wal-Mart. Both numbers were up from the year-ago period, the market research firm said.

Amazon.com, widely considered a third bastion of CE retail, came in sixth place in the poll, with 2 percent of respondents citing the e-tailer as their go-to destination for electronics.

Moving to third place was Target, which was named by 2.8 percent of CE shoppers in the unaided survey, followed by Sears at 2.5 percent.

Circuit City’s remaining stores drew 2.2 percent of those surveyed, while Costco came in seventh place, with 1.7 percent of CE shoppers. However, BIGresearch projects that the warehouse club and Amazon will both rise in the rankings over the ensuing months.

Separately, BIGresearch’s monthly Consumer Intentions & Actions Survey also suggested that the recession is permanently changing buying behaviors. More than 90 percent of respondents said they will be more thoughtful when spending over the next five years, with 48 percent planning to stick to a budget, 46 percent expecting to dine out less and 43 percent vowing to not incur a large credit card debt.